Normally, we pronounce the with a short sound (like "thuh"). But when the comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".
| vowel sound | write | say |
|---|---|---|
| a | the apple | thee apple |
| e | the egg | thee egg |
| i | the ice-cream | thee ice-cream |
| o | the orange | thee orange |
| u | the u gli fruit | thee ugli fruit |
It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:
| we write | with | we say | because |
|---|---|---|---|
| the house | consonant h | thuh house | consonant sound |
| the hour | consonant h | thee our | vowel sound |
| the university | vowel u | thuh youniversity | consonant sound |
| the umbrella | vowel u | thee umbrella | vowel sound |
Emphatic the [thee]
When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use "emphatic the" [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:
A: I saw the [thuh] President yesterday.
B: What! The [thee] President of the United States?
A: Yes, exactly!
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